20th International Congress of Arachnology

106

DENVER MUSEUM OF NATURE & SCIENCE

REPORTS

No. 3, July 2, 2016

Cushing

Poster presentation

The use of tarantulas in traditional medi-

cine on three continents

Yann Hénaut

, Sévérin Tchibozo

, Salima Machkour

M’Rabet

El Colegio de la frontera sur, Unidad Chetumal,

Av. Centenario, Chetumal, Quintana Roo. AP 424,

Mexico;

Centre de Recherche pour la Gestion de la

Biodiversité, 04 B.P. 0385, Cotonou, Benin.

yhenaut@ecosur.mx

Spiders are used in traditional medicine on all con-

tinents; however the use of tarantulas in traditional

medicine has been reported on only two continents;

in America and in Asia. In this work we present a syn-

thesis of the knowledge about the use of tarantulas in

traditional medicine throughout the world and new

information for Mexico as well as a first report for

Africa. In the state of Chiapas, the Tzeltal Maya ethnic

group use tarantulas as a cure for tumors. The spiders

are induced to bite the affected area. Furthermore, the

Chol ethnic group uses the tarantula

Brachypelma

vagans

for people who present an illness called taran-

tula wind that consists of asthma, chest pain and

coughing. In Brazil, the “tooth” of a bird spider is used

to treat an infection of the upper dermis; the fangs are

also recommended for the treatment of toothache. In

Brazil, people suffering from asthma, drink tea with

bird-spider toasted powder. In Cambodia, tarantulas of

the genus

Haplopelma

, are used for several medical

conditions. Recently we discovered another unique

use of

B. vagans

by the Maya people, for bathing eyes

which improves sight. They also rear these spiders in

their patio so as to have medicine within easy reach.

In southern Mali, Africa, we observed people from the

Senufo population using tarantulas as a traditional

medicine to cure stomach illness. The tarantula identi-

fied as from the

Phoneyusa

genus, is fried with salt and

then consumed. This is the first report of the use of a

tarantula in traditional medicine for Africa.

Keywords: tarantula, traditional medicine,

Brachy-

pelma

Phoneyusa

Poster presentation

Population genetic structure of the bold

jumping spider,

Phidippus audax

: Evidence

for distinct “northern” and “southern” forms

Michael Henshaw, Brandon Beltz

Grand Valley State University, 1 Campus Dr Allen-

dale, MI 49525, USA

henshawm@gvsu.edu

The bold jumping spider,

Phidippus audax

, is found

throughout much of North America, from Ontario to

Mexico, in a variety of climatic regions. While there are

few obvious geographical barriers separating populations,

and the spiders are abundant throughout their range,

there is substantial morphological variation, and previous

work has suggested that there may be distinct Southern

and Northern forms. We collected samples from across

the southern portion of the eastern half of the U.S., and

sequenced 672 bp of the COI gene for 114 individuals. We

also downloaded corresponding sequences, from Genbank,

for 12

P. audax

collected in Ontario, as well as sequences

from

P. purpuratus

, and

P. clarus

. The average pairwise

differences among the P. audax haplotypes was 4.31, com-

pared to more than 40 differences in comparisons between

species. A minimum spanning tree of the

P. audax

hap-

lotypes revealed two clusters, separated by 6 mutational

steps. These clusters were geographically distinct, with one

cluster found primarily in south Texas (“Southern” popu-

lation), and the other cluster common everywhere else we

collected (“Northern” population). Our study included a

single sample collected from a morphologically distinct

Florida population, but it was not genetically distinct from

other “Northern” spiders. These differences suggest that,

while the populations exhibit meaningful differentiation,

they are not different species. Differentiation may have

arose as the result of historical isolation, for example,

during the last glacial maximum, or, through the action

of selection, perhaps as a result of local adaptation. We are

collecting additional nuclear data to further characterize

the pattern of differentiation, and to better understand the

evolutionary mechanisms that led to the differences.

Keywords: genetic differentiation, speciation, Salticidae,

molecular systematics